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Podcasts Tend To Get The Audience They Deserve
Episode 43 • 29th September 2021 • Podcast Pontifications • Evo Terra
00:00:00 00:13:39

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Evo Terra:

Podcasting is easy for, like, five minutes.

Evo Terra:

Then reality sets in.

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The reality of making great content that people can't help but share.

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Podcasting doesn't come with guarantees.

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So is it worth it?

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Evo Terra:

Hello, and welcome to another Podcast Pontifications with me, Evo Terra.

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I can't think of a meeting I've had recently with either a client

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or a prospect where I didn't utter the words "Podcasts tend to

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get the audience they deserve."

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It's become sort of an axiom of mine.

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One that represents my overarching worldview of podcasting, if you will.

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I've heard many other podcasting pundits say something along the lines

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of "Podcasting is a slow burn," or "You need to be in this for the long haul."

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And while I agree with those statements, those all come with a

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presumption that success is inevitable.

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You and I know it's not.

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So at the risk of being depressing, not my goal, let's return to my axiom

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"Podcasts tend to get the audience they deserve," and unpack that for a moment.

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What it doesn't mean is if you build it, they will come.

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They might, but they might not.

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That axiom also does not mean that you can market your way into great success.

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That might work for you, but it also might not.

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So what is it about?

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First, "Podcasts tend to get the audience they deserve" is about your

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podcast, not you, the podcaster.

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Now, yes, you are inexorably wound together with your podcast.

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I get that.

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But for this axiom to work, we need to take the person, the you, out

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of it, and look at the product, the thing that you're making.

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The podcast is the product.

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The product is the podcast.

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And that is what people will or will not decide to make a part of their life.

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So, does content matter?

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Well, of course it does, but content is a broad topic.

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It means a lot of things.

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Is the sound quality good?

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That's a good question for you.

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Or, for your show, is the sound quality exceptional?

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Are the conversations you're having, or the things you're

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talking about, are they good?

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Or are those conversations riveting?

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Is the packaging of the content, that means the episode itself, the show

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itself, your website, all supporting properties, is the packaging pretty good?

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Or is it done with the utmost care?

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Again, it's about your podcast itself.

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Secondly, the axiom is about the show's audience and how the show,

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the product, fits in their lives.

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Is the length of the show okay?

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Or does it fit exactly the need that your audience has?

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Are they getting new episodes from you, from the podcast, on the right cadence?

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Or is that not the case and they're stepping out on you?

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Stepping out on your podcast, getting content that they want

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and that they need from others?

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The opposite may be true.

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Are you overloading them with content?

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Is your podcast making them face tough decisions of what else they can't

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listen to because of your podcast?

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Does the audience like the host, you?

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Like the hosts, your guests, everybody else that comes on the show?

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More importantly, do they feel a deep connection to the host or hosts

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that almost borders on fanaticism?

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And is the show so compelling to your audience that they can't

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help but recommend it to others?

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Or is your podcast, is this podcast just one of many in their listening app?

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The third thing about the axiom, is the odd word "tend" that I have in there.

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Again, podcasts tend to get the audience they deserve.

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Now, tend means that neither success nor failure of any given

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show is a foregone conclusion.

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Tend means that we can, with a high degree of accuracy, predict which

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shows will grow and which shows will stagnate on a large scale.

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No promises for any individual show, but taken en masse, we

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probably can learn some things.

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Also, tend makes room for some external pressures, if you

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will, and serendipitous events.

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I've seen shows suddenly find a much bigger audience when breaking news

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from the real world collides with a big PR push that the podcast is doing,

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and the podcast then rides that wave.

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That's a mix of good strategy and luck.

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I've also found shows, or I've seen shows, who find much bigger audiences

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when, finally, the marketing is really hitting the right placement somewhere.

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Sure, that can happen.

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But I've also seen exceptional, high quality, even critically-acclaimed

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podcasts flop because the timing just wasn't right.

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Or the marketing just didn't work.

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Or, in some cases, the audience's attention shifted to something else.

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So when you hear me say, "Podcasts tend to get the audience they deserve"

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that's not necessarily an indictment.

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I mean, it might be an indictment.

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If you know there's more you could be doing, or if, you know, there's a

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disconnect somewhere in your processes.

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Or maybe you feel like you're just going through the motions, then, yeah, it is

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an indictment and your podcast probably doesn't deserve a bigger audience.

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But that's a question for you to wrestle with.

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It's a question for everyone to wrestle with.

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But I still feel that, all things being equal, podcasts tend to get the audience

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they deserve, even yours, even mine.

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It's all really up to that axiom to play itself out.

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Let's do some Boostagrams.

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Now it's time for the boost-the boost-the boost- Boostagram Corner.

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Boostagram Corner.

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I don't know a thing about crypto.

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First, a big thanks to Mr.

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Dave Hanley from Advertisecast for the virtual coffee purchase - thank

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"Keep the great content coming, Evo."

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That I can do, Dave.

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I appreciate your support.

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Now, you can also buy me a coffee, a virtual coffee, just like Dave did.

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You can also send me a boost message using one of the new-fangled,

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fancy new podcasting apps.

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If you also follow me on Twitter, @EvoTerra, you can hit that little

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monetization, that little bank note button up there, and that will send

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me a small note along with some small contribution that you can choose.

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And if you don't wish to contribute monetarily or that's just not in the cards

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right now, you can leave a review in your podcast app of choice or on Podchaser.

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All of those value-for-value options and more are listed, weirdly enough,

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on the Value-for-Value page - yes, I'm renaming it - the Value-for-Value page at

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podcastpontifications.com/value-4-value.

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Although, I'm probably going to make it work where typing in

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"value-for-value" works, too.

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Regardless of all of those things, I shall be back tomorrow with yet

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another Podcast Pontifications.

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Cheers!

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Podcast Pontifications is written and narrated by Evo Terra.

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He's on a mission to make podcasting better.

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Links to everything mentioned in today's episode are in the notes

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section of your podcast listening app.

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A written-to-be-read article based on today's episode is available at

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podcastpontifications.com where you'll also find a video version and a corrected

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transcript, both created by Allie Press.

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Podcast Pontifications is a production of Simpler Media.

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